This Year Is A Wrap

Tis the season for ribbons and bows… lights and packages… jingle jangle music, and special goodies that we enjoy eating but honestly don’t need.  Wrapping presents becomes a common keeper of time for many. We wrap our presents to present as special gifts for those special people.

We also wrap up a year that some did not ask for. One that could be described by many as a package they did not wish to open and really did not choose to even unwrap. 

We try everyday to find something to save us. We seek hope and resolution in so many things this world either requires of us or through other resources that it offers. We often become unraveled in who we want to be. The crashing weight of trying to measure up…trying to keep up… trying to just stay up while facing the frozenness of time, as it relates to finding positive outlooks.

Yet no matter what has taken place this year and every year before and to come, we wrap our thoughts and hearts around the astonishing fact that God unwrapped Jesus as the One who has saved us.

We are reminded that He is the One who was presented to us originally wrapped in barn cloths. Like a winter snow blanketing the firm cold ground and then melting away on a warm sunny day, God with us comes and sweeps over our callous cold hearts with His soothing warm Presence. He unveiled Emmanuel to us and our lives would never be the same. 

He unveiled Emmanuel

to us and our lives would

never be the same.

Through the unknowns, letdowns, adjustments, and life changes, I can say with confidence that God has been more than faithful in this season of my life than I would have expected.

He has unwrapped me of what I once was. So much of who I use to be has been stripped away. Parts that are defined by society’s definition as misfortune.  Yet He has a way of taking away things we all no longer need in some form or fashion.

What I had valued to be good was no longer a part of me in some major areas of my life. But God makes all things new and He created something for me that is far better.  His Presence is the only present I seek to unwrap. 

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:19‬ ‭

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭

His Presence is the only present

I seek to unwrap.

Is there something that you can find when you look much deeper inside yourself that has improved this year as well? It might have not come in the delightful presentation of a wrapped gift that you look forward to opening. It might have come through hurt, heartache, or loss. It could have knocked the very breath out of you. You may have felt lost, numb, and dumbfounded. It might have lingered well into many sleepless nights. 

But Jesus was not presented to us in the preferred fashion either. He came in a way that others would not….could not. It wasn’t the easy, common, or most popular choice. It was the most sacrificial path ever chosen.  Only Him….only Him for you and me.  You see, it’s not about the presentation, but it’s all about the gift.   Oh what a gift He brings to you and me.  

‭‭‬‬“For this is how much God loved the world—He gave His one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life. “God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it!”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭

You see,

it’s not about the presentation,

but it’s all about the gift.

This year has been surrounded by His mercy and grace.  It continues to stay covered with His love and provision.  He wraps Himself up in the fullness of His glory to shine for all the world to see and experience.  Emanuel, He remains with us.

Emmanuel, He remains with us.

Please join me in this prayer…..Lord, I have never known and never will know what tomorrow has in store, other than Your Presence will be with me. There are so many negative things that I could make my focus and give my attention to. But You have always told me to not make the things of this world my main focus. You invite us all to give our attention to You.  You have everything we need.  You are there in the midst of all the circumstances we go through. You provide us with strength to endure and to conquer. You give us peace when the world says to worry. You give us joy when the world searches for it. You give love for us to carry and to share with others when the world is trying to discover it. You give us hope because our future is secure when the world continues to hope that it shows up. You truly are everything we need Lord. May the revelation of Your sustaining Presence truly be unwrapped by each of us. 

We love You.  In Jesus name, Amen. 

Lingering Thoughts:

This December completes our 33rd month of Lingering In The Oasis being in existence. Since I started on this blog journey back in April 2020, I’ve discovered so much about the craft of blogging but even more about myself. It brings joy to put my thoughts into words and my photos in a collection to share with others. To all who have taken a few moments to read a post, I hope and pray it has served its 2 part mission. 1st is to empower you with God’s Word. 2nd is to bring some brightness and encouragement to your day. I look forward to remaining in His Oasis, having you join me, and inviting a friend.  JS

Photos by Create228studio